Teach the Vote previously reported on the release of the Senate committee assignments, and then on March 27, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) released a new set of Senate interim charges that will guide committee work ahead of the 90th Legislature, which convenes in January 2027. While the Senate Committee on Education has several directives focused squarely on public education, other committees have also been assigned charges that will impact our public schools. As is typical, these interim charges signal where Senate leadership may be headed leading into the session, and they offer an early look at the policy conversations educators and school leaders can expect over the next few months. 

How will AI affect the Texas workforce and education systems? 

One of the most forward-looking directives comes through the Senate Committee on Economic Development, which is charged with studying how artificial intelligence (AI) will shape the Texas workforce and what that means for education systems. Lawmakers will be asking how schools, higher education institutions, and workforce programs can better align with employer needs in a rapidly changing economy, while also identifying opportunities for upskilling and integrating emerging technologies responsibly. For educators, this charge points toward potential future discussions about career and technical education, curriculum alignment, and how AI literacy may be incorporated into classrooms. 

Senate Education to examine school turnaround programs, “rightsizing,” and four-day school weeks 

Within the Senate Education Committee, several charges reflect ongoing priorities from recent legislative sessions while also introducing new areas of scrutiny. Lawmakers will take up a charge on Improving School Transformation Talent to “evaluate the existing access to and efficacy of experts in improving school academic performance.” School turnaround has become big business over the past several years, with a very limited number of vendors charging districts as much as $325,000 a month per campus to run turnaround schools. Additionally, the charge calls on the committee to “develop suggestions to strengthen and expand the current leadership pipeline, including public school training, policies, and practices that accelerate academic progress.” This aligns with continued state interest in intervention models and raises questions about how districts recruit, train, and retain the campus leaders tasked with improving struggling schools. 

The second charge tackles “shifting enrollment” and “rightsizing.” Despite continued adult population growth statewide, public school enrollment has dipped in recent years, initially due to declining birthrates and more recently because of the impact of federal immigration policy, prompting lawmakers to study how districts can “rightsize” operations while maintaining program quality. This charge could have significant implications for staffing, funding formulas, and long-term planning, particularly for districts experiencing declining enrollment alongside increased fixed operational costs. 

Maximizing instructional time is also under review, with the third charge directing the committee to study districts that have adopted four-day school weeks or hybrid calendars. The charge explicitly references concerns about learning loss in reading and math and signals potential legislative interest in setting expectations or guardrails around school calendars. For districts currently using flexible scheduling models, often as a strategy to address staffing shortages and planning time, this could become an area of heightened state oversight. 

Interim charges direct legislators to study recent legislation, including teacher pay and voucher bills 

Teacher compensation remains a central theme. The fourth charge, “reviewing historic pay increases for teachers,” tasks the committee with reviewing pay increases enacted over the past decade, including those in 2025’s House Bill (HB) 2, and monitoring how those raises are being implemented across districts. Lawmakers are specifically asked to examine impacts on teacher income and the persistent rural pay gap. This suggests continued legislative attention to whether recent investments are reaching classrooms as intended and whether additional adjustments may be proposed. 

The committee’s fifth (and perhaps a bit presumptuous) charge, “celebrating the successful rollout of school choice,” directs the committee to monitor and build upon the rollout of vouchers/”school choice” under 2025’s Senate Bill (SB) 2, which is described in the directive as the “largest launch in history.” With reports of high application numbers, legislators are being asked to develop recommendations to expand the program. This will likely remain one of the most closely watched and debated topics, particularly in terms of fiscal impact and effects on the public school system. 

The final Senate Education charge is a broad “monitoring” charge instructing the committee to track implementation of several major education laws passed in the 2025 session, including SB 12 and SB 13, which address parental rights, instructional content, and library oversight; SB 571, related to misconduct and abuse reporting; HB 6 on discipline and student mental health supports; and. Again. HB 2, the state’s major school finance and policy bill. These monitoring directives often serve as precursors to “cleanup” legislation, adjustments to implementation, or expansion of existing policies. 

Property taxes continue to be topic of conversations 

Beyond the Education Committee, additional charges intersect with public education funding and policy. The Senate Local Government Committee is directed to study further property tax reductions, particularly through an increase to the homestead exemption and lowering the age threshold for senior tax benefits. Because school property taxes remain a primary funding source for public education, any additional compression or exemption changes will raise familiar questions about how the state plans to backfill lost local revenue. This charge also aligns with an ongoing campaign push from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to eliminate school property taxes altogether, a proposal that would require the state to replace tens of billions in local revenue annually and raises significant questions about long-term sustainability and control of public school funding. (You can read more about that here.) 

Finally, the Select Committee on Religious Liberty will monitor implementation of new laws affecting public schools, including SB 10 and SB 11. These policies, which address religious expression in schools, are expected to remain legally and politically significant as implementation continues. 

What educators can take from this 

The Senate’s interim charges reflect a continuation of recent legislative priorities, teacher pay, school choice, parental rights, and accountability, while also introducing a new focus on AI, enrollment shifts, and instructional time. For educators and districts, these directives offer an early roadmap of the policy discussions ahead and underscore the importance of staying engaged as committees begin their work leading into the next legislative session.